Microsoft launches 'Office 15' preview, promises beta by Summer

Monday, Microsoft began the technical preview program of "Office 15," the next generation of Microsoft's Office ecosystem, which will include cloud services, servers, mobile and desktop clients. The big thing about Office 15 is that all these separate forms of Office will be simultaneously updated.

The Technical Preview period is when a very small group of users have access to the software in the understanding that they will not disclose any information about the early software. The beta testing period is expected to roll around some time in the summer, so somewhere in the range of four to five months from now.

"At this early point in our development cycle, I'm not able to share too much about Office 15," said PJ Hough, CVP of Development in the Office division. "But I can tell you Office 15 is the most ambitious undertaking yet for the Office Division. With Office 15, for the first time ever, we will simultaneously update our cloud services, servers, and mobile and PC clients for Office, Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Project, and Visio. Quite simply, Office 15 will help people work, collaborate, and communicate smarter and faster than ever before."